1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the dynamic generation of a user interface that reflects the devices detected, and more particularly, to a user interface that includes an option selectable to cause two or more detected devices to perform collective capabilities, each of which combines the capabilities of the two or more detected devices, the user interface further includes selection options for separately using the capabilities of the detected devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Consumers/users have come to rely more on electronic devices such as personal computers, printers, scanners, digital cameras and the like. In addition, an increased emphasis has been placed on internetworking of these devices. As users become more reliant on these devices, the need for “convenience of use” of these devices becomes more and more critical. Difficulties that are encountered when installing and setting up of a device and/or when using the device can result in a level of frustration and ultimately in a lack of use. Thus, there is a need to facilitate the setup and use of a device. There is also a need to be able to optimize the capabilities of each of the devices.
One conventional approach that has been adopted for setting up resources like modems or network cards and peripherals of a computer system is known as plug-n-play (PnP). Its successor is known as universal PnP, or uPnP, which is a peer-to-peer architecture for configuring a new device when it is added to a network. PnP and uPnP, which are referred to collectively herein as PnP, are standards for automatically detecting and facilitating the installation of the appropriate drivers necessary for operating the detected devices. As a result, when a device (e.g., a printer, scanner, camera, network adapter, etc.) is initially connected to a system or network, it is detected and the user is prompted by the system control software to select the appropriate software (e.g., device driver) and default system settings (e.g., interrupts and direct memory access channels) necessary to use the newly-connected device.
PnP has facilitated the initial installation and setup of a device. Still PnP does not address the ease of use of a device after it has been installed. For example, it remains an onus on the user to make sure that the device is available for use, and to determine those capabilities provided by an available device. In addition, PnP does not aid a user in determining what, if any, capabilities can be performed by using a combination of devices.
For example, a user may desire to copy a paper document. If the user's computing system has an installed scanner and printer, the user can first scan the document using the scanner, save the scanner output to a file in the computers file system and then send the document to the printer from within an application that can read, and possibly convert, the scanner output file designated that is by the user.
In the above scenario, the user must be aware of the capabilities of the multiple devices (i.e., the scanner, the printer, the computer software, etc.), and must oversee the process. It would be beneficial for a user interface to present a copy functionality to the user without the need for any intervention by the user.
Conventional user interfaces, such as those available from Hewlett Packard and Canon as well as other manufacturers, include a copy button for use with a scanner device. However, the user must intervene at least to specify which printer is to be used as well as to specify the default settings needed to use that printer with the copy button. However, there is no automatic detection of a printer for use with the copy function. Thus, the user must first indicate the printer that is to be used to output the scanned-in document.
Further, in the conventional user interface the copy button is available regardless of whether a printer is available to print output from the scanner, i.e., regardless of whether a copy operation can actually be carried out. In other words, in a conventional scanner user interface, the copy function is available to be selected without regard to whether the devices that are needed to perform the copy operation are available.
Since the scanner's user interface is preset, or predetermined, there is no ability to automatically update the user interface to reflect the devices that are actually connected, or to identify device combinations based on detected devices that can provide added functionality.
In addition to preset UIs, a multifunction peripheral (MFP), which is also referred to as an “All-in-One” product and which physically consists of multiple devices in a single housing, is pre-configured by the device manufacturer to include a preset combination of devices (e.g., a scanner, printer, etc.). An MFP user is limited to the preset configuration and the capabilities of the MFP's devices. For example, to perform a copy operation using an MFP, the user uses the pre-set scanning and printing capabilities of the MFP.
A user may use another device in combination with an MFP. However, manual intervention of some sort is needed by the user to coordinate use of the MFP with the other device. Take, for example, a case where a user wishes to perform a copy operation using a printer other than the one provided by the MFP. In order to use the other printer identified by the user, the user must perform a multi-step process to first scan a document using the scanning function of the MFP, save/retrieve the scanned output, and submit a print job (e.g., from within a software program) to generate print data for printing by the other printer identified by the user.
Thus, it would be beneficial to be able to dynamically generate a user interface that reflects the devices that have been detected, and that reflects device combinations that are dynamically and automatically determined and that can provide added functionality without the need for a user to intervene in some manner.